As Baxter Regional Medical Center officials announced Thursday they will close two area clinics, they were also welcoming a new pediatrician in a post on the hospital’s website.In a press conference Thursday morning, David Fox, BRMC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, says the Clinic at Walmart and Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic, both in Mountain Home, will close at the end of August.
Patients are encouraged to continue to take advantage of the services offered at The Clinic at Walmart until it closes August 31st. Fox says about 100 patients utilize The Clinic at Walmart monthly.
When BRMC opened The Clinic at Walmart, it was a step taken to fill a void as the hospital looked at the comprehensive needs of the community. With an alternative urgent care offering now in Mountain Home, Fox says hospital officials took another look at the local healthcare market.
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Fox says Dr. Safwan Sakr of Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic has notified BRMC he has taken a position with another organization in central Arkansas. Dr. Sakr has practiced locally for 15 years and was Mountain Home’s first rheumatologist.
Fox says Dr. Sakr’s departure coupled with challenges in recruitment of a rheumatologist over the past few years led to the decision to close this clinic.
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Fox says in the meantime, the approximately 400 patients of the Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic will have the option of following Dr. Sakr to his new practice or securing a new rheumatologist in areas such as Harrison and Jonesboro.
Securing a pediatrician for its medical staff has also been a challenge for BRMC. Dr. Samantha Shipman will join the practice of Dr. Michael Adkins at Lincoln Paden Medical Group on August 1st.
A native of Yellville, Dr. Shipman earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
She completed a pediatrics residency at UAMS and received the 2015 W.T. Dungan Award for Excellence in Pediatrics at Arkansas Childrens Hospital and the Chairmans Scholar Award at UAMS.
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